HOUSE & GARDEN JUNE 2019
Sunset Boulevard
TEXT BY JULIA FREEMANTLE
A coastal home in Cape Town steers clear of cliches in favour of a fun frolic into Hollywood regency.
As a designer who doesn’t like doing the same thing twice but whose style identity is well-developed, John Jacob, of John Jacob Interiors, was the ideal candidate to create an atypical beach house that offered high-end elegance and a fresh take on a tried-and-tested recipe, without being outlandish.
‘When I first met the client, I sensed that he had a well-developed sense of style. He also wanted something fun and vibrant, and I wanted to avoid stereotypes,’ explains John. The designer’s upbeat opulence and fearless use of colour was a far cry from the low-key road many designers take with coastal briefs. ‘My approach was to be unapologetically maximalist. And then, when I felt I’d done too much, I’d stop,’ he explains.
Despite its unmistakable breezy air, the house is a million miles from the South African coastal cliches. ‘I didn’t want to express that casual-coastal-meets-bush-lodge recipe with this space,’ he says’. That aesthetic can slide into ‘schlumpfy’, so it was to be avoided at all costs. ‘It’s a nice idea but it’s hard to make ‘schlumpfy chic.’
And chic this home is courtesy of a heavy dose of Hollywood Regency Hedonism. Lacquer, chrome, antique mirror and bamboo all feature abundantly and are typical of Hollywood Regency style, which came into being in the 1930s, as directors wanted to bring star power to films, and so decorated accordingly, with opulence in mind. This then trickled down in home decor, made accessible by designers like Dorothy Draper.
‘I’m crazy about the cheeky eclecticism of the style,’ says John. Its extravagant but sleek-and playful attitude was a fitting starting point for a stylish, seaside home that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The tropical vibe you see is a happy accident resulting from this style influence, as opposed to the house’s location, and the profusion of bamboo motifs, palm print and fun effervescent colours keeps you situated by the sea.
The palette, especially, couldn’t be more perfect for the proximity to the coastline and yet it’s purely a product of the period – the colours in vogue during Hollywood Regency’s reign offer a sense of opulent escapism that’s on point here. The designer has been clever about how he’s used colour to energise and uplift. With the interconnecting communal spaces as you enter, all in varying shades of blue, – navy, seafoam, turquoise – and shots of unexpected colour only in the rooms that are self-contained (from Chinese lacquer red, to dreamy coral and elegant grey), you experience the full spectrum, from sea spray to sunset, punctuated by the owner’s impressive art collection, which adds an extra dash of oomph.
‘It’s the contrast within the spaces and in-between spaces that injects vibrancy, notes John. Pattern, however, is restrained, with only one or two motifs per space (in keeping with the style), so the scales never tip over into stuffy and serious and the scheme feels light instead.
“The house is quite maximalist overall, so the way to tone it down was through repeating elements,’ says John. This consistency of detail is a thread that runs throughout, and is, in fact, a signature of the designer’s.